6 months. 10 kilos. And millions of thanks.

I took two boomerangs of myself in those gray jeans – one before being hospitalised, and one the day I was allowed out. There are six months between these two moments.
Six months, about ten kilos, and countless tears, but also hundreds of smiles, and a glimmer whose intensity has only been growing week after week.
So for this and for all of the rest, I wanted to say thanks…

*To the nurses and male nurse, to the nursing assistants, and to the admin staff*

THANK YOU for your smile in front of the tears.
THANK YOU for your kindness.
THANK YOU for your patience.
THANK YOU for drying the teary eyes. THANK YOU for giving your time.
THANK YOU for your words.

*To the patients whose paths have crossed mine*

THANK YOU for your laughs, your smiley faces.
THANK YOU for your sweetness. THANK YOU for your support.
THANK YOU for your humanity.
THANK YOU for the beautiful friendships.
THANK YOU for the knitting and creative afternoons, and the half-day adventures.
THANK YOU for your craziness.
THANK YOU for the memories – the good ones as well as the bad ones.

*To the therapists and doctors*

THANK YOU for carrying me.
THANK YOU for giving me hope back
and the urge to believe.
THANK YOU for the strength I got back,
and the rekindled flame…
and thank you for making sure it never goes out ever again.
THANK YOU for making me understand that it’s ok to fall, and that what matters, is to get back on my feet…
— again. and again. and again.
Winston Churchill himself, the man who won the war, once said:
“Success is not final.
Failure is not fatal.
It is the courage to continue that counts.”

*To all of you, THANK YOU!*

THANK YOU, because I have found the appetite to live again, and I very well intend to live each day to the fullest.
THANK YOU for being here, very simply…
— today, and then tomorrow.

Take great care of yourselves, and think of switching the stars back on!